Michele Scarponi banned for three months

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Michele Scarponi banned for three months

Former Giro d'Italia winner Michele Scarponi has been banned for three months by the Italian Olympic Committee for consulting banned physician Michele Ferrari.

Scarponi earlier this year admitted that he had two tests performed under Ferrari's supervision on the Monzuno climb near Bologna in September of 2010, but claimed he didn't know the doctor was banned.

Ferrari was banned for life by the Italian Cycling Federation in 2002. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) also recently banned Ferrari for serving as a doping consultant on Lance Armstrong's winning teams.

Scarponi won the 2011 Giro d'Italia after Alberto Contador was stripped of the title for doping.

Scarponi's ban began retroactively on October 1 and expires the end of this month, therefore he does not miss out on any significant races. His lawyer, Alessandro Sivelli, argued that Ferrari's name does not appear on a banned list.